Team Aguri principal Aguri Suzuki announced he would leave the team in April 2016 as senior personnel entered "a period of consultation" over a future change in ownership.[7] In the week before the 2016 London ePrix, the Chinese public equity and venture capital firm China Media Capital announced its purchase of Team Aguri and established a new entity named Techeetah in its place.[8][9] Senior personnel from Team Aguri, including team principal Mark Preston, retained their jobs with Techeetah,[10] and the cars ran a custom Renault powertrain.[11]
The team entered the sport following the acquisition of Team Aguri in 2016.[12] In July 2016, Jean-Éric Vergne and Qinghua Ma (who competed with Team Aguri in the final rounds of the previous season prior to CMC's takeover) were confirmed as the team's drivers.[13] With Renault providing powertrains for Techeetah's debut season, Vergne scored the team's maiden podium with a second place at the Buenos Aires ePrix. In March 2017, Techeetah announced former F1 driver Esteban Gutiérrez would replace Ma from round four onwards.[14] However, after Gutiérrez left the team after only three races after being given an opportunity with Dale Coyne Racing to compete in the IndyCar Series, the team then signed Stéphane Sarrazin to compete with the team for the remainder of the season.[15]
2017–18 season
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Techeetah signed André Lotterer to partner Vergne for its second season in the series.[16] Vergne was supremely consistent over the whole course of the season, finishing on points in every race, accumulating 198 points and winning the Drivers' Championship.[17][18] The team got overtaken by Audi at the last second, missing out on Teams' Championship by only two points.[19]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2019)
In July 2018, Peugeot Sport with DS Automobiles-rebadged partnered with Techeetah and the team renamed to DS Techeetah.[20] Techeetah switched powertrain from Renault to DS Automobiles powertrain,[21] which also makes Techeetah a manufacturer team with its own DS E-TENSE.[22] In October 2018, DS Techeetah introduced its new headquarters in Versailles. James Rossiter and Zhou Guanyu were announced as the development drivers for Techeetah the 2018/2019 season.[23]
Techeetah's other line-up remained unchanged for the 2018–19 season. After the first race in New York City, Jean-Éric Vergne secured enough points to become the Drivers' Champion, winning his second Formula E championship.[24][25] Techeetah won their first ever team championship in Formula E.[26] Lotterer subsequently left the team, switching to Porsche.[27]
2019–20 season
In September 2019, it was announced that António Félix da Costa would replace Lotterer in the team (as he had departed for the new Porsche Formula E Team).[28] Vergne was set to continue with the team as he signed a long-term contract back in 2018.[29]
2021-2022
António Félix da Costa testing his Spark SRT05e in Valencia
In the 2021-2022 season DS Techeetah was registered as a French team, though the ownership were still under SECA and China Media Capital.[citation needed]
Was the only driver to have won the championship with one race to go before Jake Dennis achieved the feat in the 2022-23 Formula E season
Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy
Techeetah became the first Formula E team to join the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy support series, fielding one car for the inaugural 2018–19 season with Stefan Rzadzinski behind the wheel. The team competed under the name TWR Techeetah and was part of the Pro class.[30] The eTrophy entry included an arrangement with Ryan Walkinshaw to return his late father Tom's TWR brand to international motorsport.
A plain white livery was used during the first round in Ad Diriyah. Before the second round in Mexico City, a retro Silk Cut-based livery was introduced, which has been in use ever since.[31] Rzadzinski's deal with the team came to end before the Berlin ePrix. Former Panasonic Jaguar Racing driver and 2008–09 A1GP champion Adam Carroll was announced as his replacement.[32] The team, however, completely withdrew from the following round held in New York City.[33]
The team's best result came at the Paris ePrix, where Rzadzinski finished second. For the majority of the season, the TWR Techeetah team was consistently behind the likes of Jaguar Brazil Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, whose drivers were regularly competing for wins. It was also the only team in the Pro class to not win a race during the season.